No one would have batted an eyelid if the New York Knicks had laid an egg on Thursday night.
Just two nights later defeat the San Antonio Spurs in Las Vegas to win the Emirates NBA Cup 2025the Knicks traveled to Indianapolis to face the Indiana Pacers. And even though this Pacers team has been reshaped by injuries And defections also in a 6-20 that looks radically different from the team that brought the Knicks’ season to a ignominious end in 2025 Eastern Conference finalit is also the one that has been off since Sunday. This gave Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard and Co. massive remains an advantage against a New York team that is reportedly missing five rotation players: centers Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee soreness) and Mitchell Robinson (dealing with left ankle injuries), forward Josh Hart (abdominal sprain) and reserve guards Deuce McBride (left ankle sprain) and Landry Shamet (right shoulder sprain).
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The freshness disparity became apparent quickly, with Indiana needing less than eight minutes to take a 16-point lead against a Knicks starting five that included second-year 7-footer Ariel Hukporti and rookie second-round pick Mohamed Diawara. New York would find its way back, however, with reserve guards Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson scoring to help take the lead, Mikal Bridges scoring 11 of his 22 points in the third quarter and a pair of clutch 3-pointers by OG Anunoby helping tie the score at 111-111 late in the game.
It was a spirited comeback — enough, even if it ultimately failed, to count it as a moral victory for a team not only running on steam on the road, but also looking toward an overnight flight back to New York for a back-to-back Friday meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Our guys had plenty of opportunities to say, ‘We tried the good old college, and we’re going to wrap it up and figure it out tomorrow,'” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. told reporters after the match. “Especially being in Vegas as long as we were there, going through what we went through there…no one would have been mad at them repeatedly if they had just thrown in the towel.
“This is not our group.”
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This is partly because he is not their leader.
The fourth quarter was tough for Jalen Brunson: four misses in five tries, a few nasty late forays into the iso-ball and a expensive turnover dribbling the ball with his own foot with just over a minute to go. But after a pair of Siakam free throws put Indiana up by two with 11.4 seconds remaining — after fouling badly of Nembhard’s long-running dilemma on the previous play — Brunson went to work, driving hard to his right, shaking tenacious Nembhard with a step-back and splashing a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a one-point lead with 4.4 seconds remaining.
Jalen Brunson makes the game-winning 3-point shot over Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
(Dylan Buell via Getty Images)
“Our MVP – the league MVP, Jalen Brunson,” Brown said. “We called a timeout, we took another one, came up with a different play, and as Jalen walks out onto the court, Jalen turns to me and says, ‘I’m going to get this win. I’m going for it.’ I said, “You’re the one doing it.” It’s who you are. You do it. And he went out, and he came out again. This is what true MVPs do, and I’m happy to be a part of his team.
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The Pacers took a timeout and advanced the ball, still having a chance to send the exhausted and disgruntled Knicks away. But Siakam slipped on his way to scoop up center Jay Huff’s inside pass, giving his former Raptors teammate Anunoby a chance to pounce for a steal…
…and run out of time to complete a Victory 114-113. The Knicks have now won six in a row and nine of 10 to improve to 19-7, 1.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons, who lost in overtime at Dallas on Thursdayfor first place in the Eastern Conference.
While Brunson finished with 25 points on 10-of-23 shooting, with seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 34 minutes in the win, the All-NBA point guard sounded a note of frustration with his performance in his postgame interview.
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“Man, I was trash to start the game and then my stint in the second half was trash as well,” Brunson said. “I want to thank the Lord for Tyler Kolek – for playing the way he plays and for saving me.”
The second-year guard from Marquette followed up his excellent outing in the NBA Cup Finals with the best game that actually counts in the rankings of his career thus far, scoring 16 points, dishing out 11 assists and grabbing six rebounds in 26 minutes, in which New York outscored the Pacers by 13 points:
Kolek played a total of one minute and 52 seconds in New York’s conference final loss to the Pacers. Now he’s making a case for staying in Brown’s rotation, helping a short-handed team stay on a roll and giving New York’s stars the kind of support they need to stay in touch after a rough start so the captain can close the door when it counts.
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“I knew I was going to get another opportunity, after the missed shot and the turnover and the missed shot before the turnover,” Brunson said. “I’m just happy the ball went in and we came away with the win.”
